Fact Check: Rosie O'Donnell Did NOT Say She Wants To Return To The US From Ireland

Fact Check

  • by: Uliana Malashenko
Fact Check: Rosie O'Donnell Did NOT Say She Wants To Return To The US From Ireland Unsupported

Did American talk show host, actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell go public to complain about life in Ireland and discuss a contemplated return to the United States? No, that's not true: The viral rumor was not grounded in facts. On the day of its inception, O'Donnell said the opposite -- that she enjoyed her life in Ireland and was in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship.

The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on April 23, 2025. It shared an image that read:

ROSIE O'DONNEL CONSIDERING

MOVING BACK TO THE U.S.

SAYS LIFE IN IRELAND IS HARD.

This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:

Screenshot 2025-04-23 at 6.09.26 PM.png

(Source: X screenshot by Lead Stories)

The assertion, however, contradicted O'Donnell's own words.

None of the entries on her Substack (archived here) brought up any complaints about Ireland.

Furthermore, on the day of the post's publication on X, the New York Post (archived here) published a report featuring a video of O'Donnell. In it, she said:

I'm here in Ireland, and it's beautiful and warm -- not physically (it's actually quite cold). Moved here on January 15, and it's been pretty wonderful. I have to say, the people are so loving and so kind, so welcoming, and I'm very grateful. I'm in the process of getting my Irish citizenship as I have Irish grandparents, and that's what's going on.

One more news report (archived here) published on E! News on April 23, 2025, also discussed O'Donnell's relocation to Ireland, not departure from it.

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Other Lead Stories fact checks about entertainment can be found here.

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  Uliana Malashenko

Uliana Malashenko joined Lead Stories as a freelance fact checking reporter in March 2022. Since then, she has investigated viral claims about U.S. elections and international conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, among many other things. Before Lead Stories she spent over a decade working in broadcast and digital journalism, specializing in covering breaking news and politics. She is based in New York.

Read more about or contact Uliana Malashenko

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